ZeniMax files lawsuit against Oculus over VR tech

ZeniMax Media, the parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, filed a lawsuit against virtual reality company Oculus VR, over trademarks tied to its popular headset.

In a statement released Wednesday, ZeniMax accuse Oculus VR and founder Palmer Luckey of "unlawful exploitation of intellectual property, including trade secrets, copyrighted computer code, and technical know-how relating to virtual reality technology that was developed by ZeniMax after years of research and investment."

The lawsuit -- which names Oculus and Luckey as the defendants -- claims key technology used to create Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset that generated buzz in the tech world, was developed by ZeniMax, not Luckey.

"Intellectual property forms the foundation of our business," said ZeniMax Chairman and CEO Robert Altman in a statement. "We cannot ignore the unlawful exploitation of intellectual property that we develop and own, nor will we allow misappropriation and infringement to go unaddressed."

In a response released after the lawsuit was announced, Oculus says the lawsuit "has no merit."

"As we have previously said, ZeniMax did not contribute to any Oculus technology," reads their statement. "Oculus will defend these claims vigorously."

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported ZeniMax sent two letters to Oculus claiming John Carmack, founder of ZeniMax-owned studio id Software, had improperly shared intellectual property with Luckey and Oculus while still an employee. Carmack joined Oculus as chief technology officer in August, and formally left ZeniMax in November to join Oculus on a full-time basis.

Oculus denied infringing on ZeniMax property. "We are disappointed but not surprised by Zenimax's actions and we will prove that all of its claims are false," read a statement from Oculus in early May.

Carmack also denied the claims via Twitter shortly after the report. "Oculus uses zero lines of code that I wrote while under contract to Zenimax," he said.

The lawsuit comes two months after Oculus was acquired by social network Facebook for $2 billion.